Norwich homes get the coastal look

Interiors take inspiration from the coast this summer as cool blues and eye-popping brights give your home a taste of the seaside. EMMA HARROWING shows you how to get the beach look for your home.

The beach look used to just be all about stripes, sanded wooden floors, reclaimed wooden furniture and a colour palette of cool blues and turquoise.

This year the beach look for interiors has been given an update with a splash of bright and pastel colours – think of the multi-coloured beach huts lined up along the promenade. Keep your room calm and cool by sticking to blue tones and light wooden furniture, only adding splashes of bold colour with a vase, candles or a row of storage boxes.

Investing in a good stripy rug and cushions in varying blue tones is a cheap and cheerful way to get the beach look. You can even find old postcards from places by the sea to put in a frame and hang on the wall, or there are many beach inspired pictures available to buy from the shops.

If you want to spend some money to really achieve the beach look in your home, why not invest in some solid wood furniture which can be either made from reclaimed timber or for a modern look there are many pieces that are made to look 'beachy'.

Here is the Life Matters pick of some of the best beach-inspired pieces available in the shops.

Click on the photo gallery link at the top right of this page to see some of the products you can buy to turn your home into a beach retreat.

Find out how to give your home a fresh look for summer in the Life Matters guide to interior makeovers, in your Norwich Evening News today (Monday June 6).